PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Andre Van der Laan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ace Surprise (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Van der Laan's entrance music is Eazy-E ft. Tupac, The Game - How We Do. A fine choice. Surprise is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Remember my NAME!. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Van der Laan
vs
Surprise

185 cm
34
195 lbs
27 - 13 - 0

194 cm
27
201 lbs
14 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Andre Van der Laan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 9 - 0, fighting out of London, Ace Surprise!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Steven Brown and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van der Laan swings for the body but Surprise moves out of range.
Surprise lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Surprise cracks Van der Laan with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Surprise moves out of range as Van der Laan strikes.
Surprise listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

Surprise fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Van der Laan, pushing him back against the cage.
Van der Laan tries to land knees in the clinch but Surprise avoids the damage to the body.
Van der Laan throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Van der Laan.

It looks like Ace Surprise has been cut.
Surprise lands a hook to the side of the head.
Surprise throws a punch but it's blocked by Van der Laan.
A head punch on the inside from Surprise fails to land.
Van der Laan blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Surprise misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Surprise tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Van der Laan's elbow.
Van der Laan landing knees to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Van der Laan prevents a body shot from Surprise.
Surprise managing to block the knees to the body from Van der Laan.
Van der Laan throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Surprise blocks it with crossed arms.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Van der Laan just misses with a elbow thrown towards Surprise's brow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van der Laan lands an elbow inside that Surprise shrugs off.
Knees to the body from Van der Laan.
Surprise looks winded!
Surprise swings wildly with an uppercut but Van der Laan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Van der Laan lands an elbow just above Surprise 's eye.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Surprise can't find room to land a body shot as Van der Laan controls the action.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Surprise drops down looking for an ankle pick but Van der Laan pulls his leg out and moves away.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Van der Laan.
Van der Laan fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Surprise manages to avoid it.
Andre Van der Laan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Surprise avoids the head kick by Van der Laan.
Van der Laan dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Surprise lunges at Van der Laan with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Van der Laan's hand.
Van der Laan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Surprise avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Surprise keeps the fight on the outside.

Surprise gets a clinch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Van der Laan.
Van der Laan blocks a body shot from Surprise.
Surprise misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Surprise fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Surprise tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Van der Laan landing knees to the head.

That has opened up Ace Surprise's cut even more.
Surprise takes a knee right on the jaw!
Surprise dodges an elbow strike from Van der Laan.
Surprise misses with a punch on the inside.
Surprise throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Van der Laans head.
Surprise working aggressively here.
Van der Laan creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Surprise's defenses.
Van der Laan trying to control the position but instead, Surprise has worked for underhooks and has pushed Van der Laan into the cage.
Surprise tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Van der Laan just stands there and leans against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van der Laan blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Van der Laan gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
A short right from Surprise.
Van der Laan takes a shot to the head.
Van der Laan trying to land knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Van der Laan.
Van der Laan unloads a knee to the mid-section. Surprise lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Van der Laan wants to stall.
Van der Laan misses with a knee to the head.
Van der Laan looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Surprise tries to throw a body punch but Van der Laan avoids it by throwing Surprise back against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van der Laan.
Surprise goes for a takedown attempt but Van der Laan pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Andre Van der Laan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ace Surprise.
Van der Laan throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van der Laan tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Surprise moves into range and clinches up with Van der Laan.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van der Laan.
Surprise throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Van der Laan missing with knees to the body.
Surprise makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Van der Laan prevents a body shot from Surprise.
Surprise blocks an elbow strike.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Surprise misses with some punches.
Surprise tries to land knees in the clinch but Van der Laan avoids the damage to the body.
Van der Laan landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Van der Laan lands a hook that snaps the head of Surprise backwards.
Van der Laan unloads a knee to the mid-section.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andre Van der Laan dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ace Surprise's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Surprise gets tackled into the cage by Van der Laan. Van der Laan maintains the clinch.
Van der Laan using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Surprise has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Surprise takes an elbow to the temple.
Surprise goes for a takedown attempt but Van der Laan pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Van der Laan dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Van der Laan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Surprise steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Van der Laan. That one must have hurt.
Surprise misses with a right hand
and Van der Laan cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Surprise has Van der Laan up against the cage in a clinch.
Van der Laan throws a knee to the head but misses.
Van der Laan creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Surprise throws a head punch that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van der Laan throws a knee to the head but misses.
Surprise misses with a short punch on the inside.
Van der Laan trying to land knees to the body.
Surprise has a couple of punches blocked by Van der Laan.
Surprise blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Surprise digs a right hand into Van der Laan's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Van der Laan's gas tank.
Surprise tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Van der Laan's elbow.
Surprise swings wildly with an uppercut but Van der Laan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Surprise lands a hook that snaps the head of Van der Laan backwards.
Surprise fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Van der Laan misses with a knee strike.
Van der Laan throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Surprise blocks it with crossed arms.
Surprise misses with a hook to the ribs.
Knees in the clinch landing for Van der Laan.
Surprise is breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Van der Laan displaying some good clinch control by pressing Surprise up against the cage.
Surprise takes a knee to the side of the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Surprise on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Surprise drops down looking for an ankle pick but Van der Laan pulls his leg out and moves away.
Van der Laan displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Surprise throws out the jab.
Andre Van der Laan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Van der Laan darts in and clinches Surprise up against the cage.
Van der Laan lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

The cut above Ace Surprise's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Surprise.
Van der Laan using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Surprise blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Van der Laan blocking some punches.
Van der Laan misses with a knee strike.
Van der Laan using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Surprise has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Van der Laan blocking some punches.
Still in the clinch, Van der Laan scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knees in the clinch landing for Van der Laan.
Van der Laan tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Van der Laan lands a knee to the body.
Surprise blocks an elbow strike.
Van der Laan landing knees to the head.
Van der Laan slows down the pace here.
Van der Laan lands a knee to the head.
Van der Laan landing some nice looking knees to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Van der Laan scores a nice knee to the body.
Van der Laan with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Van der Laan landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Van der Laan is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Surprise takes a knee right on the jaw!
Van der Laan misses with a knee strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van der Laan.
Van der Laan is trying to maintain a safe position but Surprise gets an underhook and turns Van der Laan into the cage.
Van der Laan blocks an uppercut.
Van der Laan crunches a lovely knee into Surprise's ribcage.
Van der Laan landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Surprise being controlled against the cage.
Van der Laan throws a knee to the head but misses.
Van der Laan blocking some punches.
Surprise misses with the head strike.
Surprise is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Andre Van der Laan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ace Surprise.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Van der Laan scores with a knee to the head.

Ace Surprise's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.
Van der Laan misses with a knee strike.
Van der Laan lands a nice elbow.
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the head but Surprise blocks with his arms.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andre Van der Laan dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Ace Surprise's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Surprise misses with a jab, cross combination.
Van der Laan throws a leg kick which misses Surprise's front leg but catches the back leg as Surprise tries to avoid it.
Van der Laan throws a half hearted mid kick.
Surprise dodges the punch combination from Van der Laan.
Van der Laan misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
A jab from Surprise finds it's way through Van der Laan's defenses.
Van der Laan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Van der Laan jabs Surprise right on the nose. Surprise blinks but takes it well.
A nice leg kick lands there from Van der Laan.

Surprise tries to keep at a distance but Van der Laan has taken the fight into the clinch.
Van der Laan pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Van der Laan blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van der Laan throws an elbow that misses.
Surprise takes a knee right on the jaw!
Van der Laan looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Van der Laan pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Van der Laan throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Surprise blocks it with crossed arms.
Van der Laan scores with a knee to the head.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Surprise.
Surprise misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Van der Laan misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Surprise.
Van der Laan looking to throw knees to the head but Surprise is blocking nicely.
A short right from Surprise on the inside.
Van der Laan unloads a knee to the mid-section. Surprise lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Surprise takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Van der Laan with a knee to the head.
Van der Laan landing knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Van der Laan putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Surprise in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Van der Laan tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Surprise avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van der Laan with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Surprise tries to work over Van der Laan's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Surprise misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Surprise misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Van der Laan throws an elbow that misses.
Surprise has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Van der Laan putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Surprise in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Van der Laan just misses with a elbow thrown towards Surprise's brow.
Surprise managing to block the knees to the body from Van der Laan.
Van der Laan is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Surprise can do to turn this around?
Van der Laan is pushing Surprise up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Surprise has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Van der Laan after a bit of a struggle.
Van der Laan trying to land knees to the body.
Surprise lands a left hand.
Surprise misses with a body punch.
Surprise takes an elbow to the forehead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van der Laan missing with knees to the body.
Surprise working aggressively here.
Surprise tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Van der Laan's elbow.
Van der Laan prevents a body shot from Surprise.
Surprise fails to pull guard.
Van der Laan lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Ace Surprise's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:32 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Andre Van der Laan!
In his post fight interview, Andre Van der Laan started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.